Geek Shoes & Handbag

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With none of the usual fanfare, Google has released a new service: Google Real Estate. However, they’re not really calling it anything yet. Google Real Estate, or perhaps, Google Homes For Sale, is a function of Google Base. You can search for homes for sale or rent by zip and various options like number of bedrooms, bathrooms, price, etc. The listings themselves appear to be posted by realtors, or realtor offices into Google Base. These Google Base postings will show you the location of the house on Google Maps (but of course!) However, the search results also bring up links to realtors’ websites, where they have items posted that match your search query. It’s still a long way away from being the next realtor.com, but it’s nice to have.

An article on CNN Money gives some insight into Bill Gates’ computer use and office setup. Guess what? He uses Outlook! Shocking, eh? Yes, across his 3 screens he checks his email, which is sorted and prioritized using rules and flags. He uses the Outlook calendar to keep track of his appointments, saying he’s not much one for "to do" lists. (Oh, I can tell that — task lists in Outlook, anyone? Yawn…) For communication company-wide, it’s Sharepoint. Something funny I caught from the article, was in the picture (yes, the one here - I snagged it) — on his screen is the "bliss" wallpaper that comes with XP. He hasn’t even customized his desktop? What kind of power user is he anyway?! OK, I’m teasing a little, of course he’s brilliant…but I thought everyone changed their desktop! Hmm…maybe he doesn’t have admin rights to do so…

In a detailed and informative post, Frank Gruber posted a review of several different online feed readers on the TechCrunch blog. The RSS readers are discussed and rated on things like ease of use, user interface, support, etc. Apparently, my reader of choice (Bloglines) is just middle-of-the-road, scoring a 3 of 5. However, Google Reader scored a 4 out of 5. Huh? I love Google as much as anyone, but have not been thrilled with their reader. They need to steal some Apple designers to work on their UIs.

A web analytics firm called Net Applications just announced that the Firefox browser has now passed a 10 percent market share. However, another firm, OneStat.com, had announced in November that Firefox was at 11.51% back then. In either case, Firefox has definately given Microsoft’s IE a run for the money. Go Firefox!

Unlike Netflix, which is a DVD rental service, Peerflix is a DVD trading service. To use Peerflix, you sign up for a free account and list the DVDs you want to trade. There is no monthly fee to join, only a 99 cents per-trade fee. When someone wants one of your listed movies, you just pop it into a trading envelope, put one ($0.39) stamp on it, and send the DVD to them. This gives you trading credits that you can use to pick out a movie you want to see. Like Netflix, just the DVDs themselves are traded, not the cases, so this is not the site for "collectors" to build up their DVD collections. The Peerflix PeerSafe protection program protects you from losing credits if any DVD is lost, stolen or damaged so you can trade worry-free. Peerflix has potential, so I hope it does well — I would like to trade out some of my DVDs for new ones!

Nick Starr, a local blogger, was featured in the St. Pete Times today. The article is about getting TV on your terms by using technology like portable devices, downloads, and PVRs…in other words, the future of television. Congratulations, Nick! It was a great article and you have a great blog! Check it out!

Since my last review of the Windows Live Messenger 8.0 BETA was rather unfavorable, I thought I should go on record that I like it much better now that there have been some changes (which took place a while back, but I never mentioned it). Some of the changes include a new logo, a smaller "me" area, buddy names in bold with their personal messages in a lighter font, and less spacing between buddies in your buddy list (so more room for buddies!). The menu bar is hidden by default, but there is a handy button from which you can easily pull up all menu functions. Another new feature allows you to add a contact just by entering a mobile number. Also, in this version it’s very easy to hide the tabs, but I still hate that these tabs are displayed by default. Another thing I can hide is the video carousel that appears at the bottom of the main window; however, it is replaced by a small banner ad, so that isn’t much of an improvement. Still, the overall look is cleaner and more modern, and…I guess….not that bad. Oh, and I still have beta invitations - want one?

link: Inside Windows Live Messenger blog
link: old vs new screenshot

For April Fools Day 2006, Google has revealed a new site: Google Romance, whose tagline is "Pin all your romantic hopes on Google." So what’s Google Romance all about? According to the site: "When you think about it, love is just another search problem. And we’ve thought about it. A lot. Google Romance™ is our solution. Google Romance is a place where you can post all types of romantic information and, using our Soulmate Search™, get back search results that could, in theory, include the love of your life. Then we’ll send you both on a Contextual DateTM, which we’ll pay for while delivering to you relevant ads that we and our advertising partners think will help produce the dating results you’re looking for." In a hilarious tongue-in-cheek comment on the Google naysayers of late who claim all Google does releases too much just to see what will stick, Google Romance notes: those who generally favor the “throw enough stuff at the wall” approach to online dating might find it useful to employ our Batch Profile Uploading option.

Another Google prank involves Google Earth, where they’ve added some aliens to Area 51 and a dog on the White House lawn.